


Save Room For Jesus

by jimalim320



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV), stepril
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Secret dating, dance, holiday fic, winter formal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28276923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimalim320/pseuds/jimalim320
Summary: As April and Sterling spend the week decorating for the school's winter formal, Sterling's insistent questions lead April to believe Sterling is going to ask her to the dance. (Established secret relationship.)
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 83





	Save Room For Jesus

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall! Happy holidays! Here's a fun little fluffy oneshot to give you some mild winter vibes. I hope yall have a very happy rest of the year, and an even better 2021! Much love!

Winter wonderland.

April hated the theme for multiple reasons, the two most prominent being: 1- Just how absolutely basic it was, and 2. They live in Georgia. The possibility of picturesque snow and freezing cold temperatures was hopeful at best, and therefore the idea felt trivial.

But of course, Ellen loved the idea. April supposes it’s better than last year’s Nativity theme. Dances aren’t super fun when you have chaperones running around policing how close people slow dance. _Save some room for Jesus!_ Especially at a Christian school.

As head of the dance committee, it was April’s job to organize, plan, and decorate for the annual mid-December activity. And as silly as the theme was, she wasn’t going to let it keep her from putting together the most memorable winter formal Willingham had ever seen.

…

“Have you gotten your dress yet?” Sterling asks rather nonchalantly one afternoon while mindlessly stringing lights, checking each bulb for a proper tight connection. Last thing they need is to spend all the time hanging the lights just for them to go out before the evening ends.

April hums in the affirmative, without moving her attention from the box of steamers in front of her. She quickly gets annoyed by how tedious the task of unraveling them is. After a moment more of frustration, April calls Hannah B and Ezekiel over and pawns the job off on them. It’s obvious they aren’t fond of the new assignment, but April doesn’t let them off the hook. _“As committee leader, you’ll do as I say.”_ They stalk off across the room, Ezekiel rolling his eyes at April’s powertrip. She leaves Sterling for a moment to find a ladder so they can start hanging the lights.

“What color is your dress?” Sterling asks looking up at April handing her a stand while also holding the ladder steady. “I don’t actually have mine yet. Figured I’d go Friday or borrow something from Blair.”

April gently scoffs, “the dance is Saturday.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like it’s prom, just the winter formal. Less people go to this than homecoming.”

This comment stops April, and she descends the ladder to be level with Sterling before countering. “I’ll have you know, Winter Formal is a Willingham tradition that _I very much_ look forward to every year.” She winks to conclude her point before climbing back up the ladder to resume hanging the lights.

Sterling laughs, “Okay, okay…you never told me the color of your dress!”

April smirks to herself, “Blue.”

…

“What do you think about corsages?” Sterling asks during the next day’s dance decorating activities.

April replies,“Flowers are always a pretty addition to any formal look.”

“But what about the wrist corsage vs boutonniere? Or is that just for guys? Do they still call it that when it’s pinned to a dress?”

“Both are nice, though a wrist corsage is traditional.” April muses.

…

“Should I wear heels or flats? Heels look good, but they’re so pinchy. Plus most people just take them off to dance anyway. Maybe just for pre dance pictures? But then do I want to be responsible for them all night? And what if they get stolen, then I go home barefoot." Sterling stings question after question together in one long train of thought on day three of dance decorating.

April laughs at her dilemma, “Whatever makes you most comfortable.”

…

April decides to ask the questions on the final day of dance decorating. Curious what Sterling’s plans were on the following day’s event. “So, what time are you going to the dance?”

“I’m not sure, I guess whenever Blair wants to leave. She’s loves the whole ‘fashionably late’ aesthetic.”

April lets out a quiet “oh” visibly bummed by the answer. She quickly shrugs it off and goes back to smoothing the wrinkles out of the tablecloth in front of her.

Sterling doesn’t notice April’s reaction and continues her own dance questioning. “Do you think Ellen will bring her scooter? Can you imagine her scooting around the dance floor, pulling kids apart?” Very amused at the thought, Sterling falls into a fit of laughter which is rather promptly cut off by the sobering nature of April’s sudden outburst.

“Are you going to ask me to the dance or not?!” April spits a bit louder than she intended. She quickly looks around to see if anyone had heard. To her luck, no one seemed to be around at the moment, but that didn’t stop her from still pulling Sterling into a nearby closet by her wrist.

It’s quiet for a moment, Sterling taking the time to catch her bearings. “I-I didn’t think that was an option.” Sterling gapes clearly confused by the question. The idea honestly never crossing her mind.

Even though after their initial breakup when Sterling came out as bisexual, April was still closeted, hardcore. Sterling wanted to live her truth no matter the cost, which fortunately for her wasn’t much. She had a loving and supportive family, despite all their own shit. But April didn’t have that same luxury.

The students at school were judgy at first, until the day Sterling gave a passionate speech at Fellowship that changed some minds. Then eventually the whispers died down, and soon after they were on to new drama to gossip about, leaving only the rather small number hardcore haters behind.

After weeks of awkwardness and lots of longing, Sterling and April agreed to pick things back up again in secret. While Sterling was bummed at first, she quickly realized if she wanted April in her life, which she so very much does, this was how things would have to be until it was safe for things to change. Secret dating, ‘heterosexual’ April as far as anyone was concerned, and just a lonely seeming Sterling for 8 hours of the day.

April’s face falls and flushes upon realizing how silly it was thinking she could bring the date she wanted to the dance she’d been working so hard to make perfect. When of course she couldn’t. All this week she thought Sterling was putting out feelers on asking her to the dance. Wanting to know the color of her dress? To color coordinate like dates typically do. The corsage questions. Wanting to know what kind to get? Even the heels or flats debate made April think of their height difference and how that could factor into the shoe choice.

She suddenly feels extremely embarrassed for even bringing up the topic knowing full well she’s the reason they’re in the secretive predicament in the first place. Of course, Sterling wasn’t going to ask her to a _public_ dance, but she had certainly let her hopes up because she so badly wished she could be like a normal teen. No hiding, just being excited to have someone to share the evening with.

Defeated by her realization, April attempts to move around Sterling to leave the room she dragged them into. But Sterling won’t have it, stopping her in her tracks by taking hold of her waist.

“April, there is nothing more I’d rather do than dance with you, with everyone watching, and making them jealous.” Sterling assures as she pulls April in closer. This move forces April to look her girlfriend in the eyes. “Maybe we can dance _next_ to each other?” Sterling offers knowing it’s not much, just a sad reality they have to live in for now.

The way April’s heart breaks at this becomes too much for her to handle so she successfully pushes past Sterling this time, leaving her all alone in the tiny closet. She could almost laugh at how much the reversal of the bitter metaphor fits. Her tears win out.

…

As April gets ready for the dance, finishing up her makeup in front of her vanity mirror, her phone vibrates rapidly beside her. _Buzz. Buzz buzz. Buzz._ 4 new messages pop up on the screen, one right after the other. 

**April! Small problem…  
BUT I HAVE A SOLUTION!  
catering conflict, Bowser’s letting us have yogurt!  
I need you to meet me at Yogurtopia @ 6 **

The messages from Sterling bring an increased feeling of stress after a long week of planning and decorating. Having something go so wrong at the last minute is exactly the kind of nonsense April didn’t need right now. She swears she’s not signing up for this again next year.

…

  
A few minutes later April finds herself outside the closed yogurt shop’s door looking around for Sterling, no sight of her or her car anywhere. She pulls out her phone to call her, since she’s probably driving and unable to text. It rings three times before the door opens before her revealing the girl. She doesn’t even have the chance to put her phone down before she’s pulled inside revealing a dimly lit room void of all the usual tables and chairs. Music is softly playing in the background, and as she enters further into the shop, the features around the room come into focus, and April realizes slowly what’s really going on.

The windows and doors covered in curtains, Christmas lights stung all about the space, there’s even a small area in the corner behind the counter set up with a tripod and a backdrop. Sterling approaches her with a small wrist corsage consisting of baby’s breath and little blue flowers. “I could tell how upset you were about the dance, so I thought, if we can’t go to Willingham’s Winter Wonderland together, maybe we could have our own little private one first.”

April melts at Sterling’s words, audibly laughing at how sarcastically she recites the theme of the school event knowing how much she hates it. When she feels Sterling take her hand to put the corsage on her wrist she looks down, Sterling is wearing flats. She giggles at the sight, and as if on cue a familiar tune comes on over the speaker. _I’m alright with a slowburn…_ The scene couldn’t have been more perfect if April planned it herself, and she had. Turns out the only thing she really needs to have the most memorable winter formal is Sterling as her date.

April wraps her arms around Sterling’s waist and pulls her close. Sterling puts her arms around April’s shoulders and jokes lightly, “Should we leave room for Jesus?”

April looks up at her girlfriend with the biggest smirk, “hell no” before pulling her in for a long passionate kiss, completely forgetting about the dance she had spent all week planning. This was the one to remember, this was the perfect dance, and this was the only one they went to that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope to have a short NYE fic posted around the holiday if I can manage to sit down and write, getting this done was a struggle! So fingers crossed and stay tuned I guess!


End file.
